In 2018, approximately 20,000 students learn in more than 1,038 classrooms in Everett Public Schools. In another 10 years, 1,858 more will move here with their families. Snohomish County is the second fastest growing county in the state, and Everett Public Schools is growing faster than any other school district in the county.

All that growth is evident in schools with portable classrooms and congested parking lots and city streets during pick-up and drop-off times. In fact, the district’s 26 schools are home to 140 portables – most of those on schools in the district’s southern region where growth is accelerating fastest.

This growth and the need to modernize existing school structures are among the reasons the board is considering a school construction bond in 2020. At their September 25, 2018, meeting, the board passed Resolution No 1187 forming a Capital Bond Planning Committee.

The committee will include approximately 24 community members, and will also have staff and student representation. Their work will be to develop a recommendation by early summer 2019 on whether the district should propose a bond in 2020, and if so, what should be part of that bond.

She went on to say, “We need more space for our growing student population, and have many older schools that are in need of updating. The board would like the community’s input on how to address these problems and we look forward to their recommendation.”

The formation process for the Capital Bond Planning Committee starts October 10, 2018. Interested persons are invited to submit an application online about their background and interest in representing the community.

This committee will provide a recommendation on how to revise high school enrollment boundaries beginning fall 2020 to reduce enrollment at Jackson High School, as well as complementary and practical program changes, portable classroom, and minor schedule changes.